Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I am paying too much tax and too many tolls. I pity the people who live in Kinnegad and Enfield who must pay €5 per day to go to work in Dublin. That is equivalent to an extra €109 per month on one's mortgage. If everybody's mortgage increased by €109 per month, there would be much talk about it. However, that is what these people must pay.

Senator Quinn referred to the polluter pays principle, that is, the more one uses, the more one pays. However, I presume he meant that the more one uses the road, the less one should pay, which is different. The people from Kinnegad and Enfield should be given a concession. That should also apply to people in Cork where tolls have been introduced. People who work in Galway city will also have to pay each day to go to work. There should be concessions for people who use the roads on a daily basis while people who use them on a weekly or monthly basis should pay the toll.

There is nothing in the Minister's speech which leads me to believe that anything will be done in the next two to five years about the daily congestion on the M50. I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for your latitude regarding time. I regret that the Minister is not present to explain the public-private partnership for the second phase of the M50 upgrade given that he also says it will be paid for by the toll.